My house has the flu and we are all down for the count. It hit me out of nowhere over the weekend and I woke up Saturday night with a fever and chills and severe body aches. Unfortunately for me, I was not at home when I woke up sick in the middle of the night, I was 2 hours north of home. At about 7am, I started calling and texting my daughter and son-in-law sending out the SOS for help because I knew there was no way I was able to drive myself home. My husband was already sick at home and had been for a few days, so I knew he was not in any condition to come get me, plus we would have had to leave a vehicle behind. I am never this sick and the last time was two years ago when we came home from the Ft. Worth stock show and I had gotten the infamous ‘barn flu’.
I was finally able to get ahold of Lauren and Brian and they hopped in their vehicle to come and get me with no hesitation. Because my daughter is a chiropractor and is a great caregiver, she came armed with an arsenal of things for a sick mom. Pillow and blanket for comfort was the only good thing she brought. She had some ginger chews, electrolyte water (and we are not talking Gatorade either) a ginger and turmeric immune boost drink and I am not sure what else. I was so sick and delirious; I just took whatever she handed me. This was probably the only time I have not questioned her on what she was giving me because she is always trying to sneak super healthy stuff into my diet.
I don’t remember the drive home but she did take a nice photo of me sleeping and shared it with my son and daughter-in-law in our family group text. She apparently made a couple of stops to do a supermarket sweep (anyone else remember that game show?) and she picked up some more essentials for a sick mom. My son-in-law Brian is such a good sport about everything and was following along in my truck that I’m sure smelled like the farm since I had been hauling show heifers and kids for a couple days.
Once we made it home, I could not wait to get into my own bed and get some rest. Meanwhile Lauren and Brian made the best homemade chicken noodle soup with all the best things in it to help boost your immune system. She put onion socks on me and I know that sounds so strange, but for whatever reason it really does work! She also rubbed my feet down with oregano and coconut oil and every time I would doze off I would have dreams about Italian food, go figure!
It is press week at work, so I am not only dreaming of Italian food, I am thinking about what I need to do at work. Thankfully, Amanda in the office is truly the best and if you have ever called into the office, she is the one you want to talk to. There is no way I could do this job without her and I am sure there are days she looks over at me and is not sure what she has gotten herself into. I try to have things ready to go for her but I am usually forgetting something. Fortunately, she is patient and when it comes to getting over some roadblock, she can do it!
I am thankful for the support system that I have at home and at work and it makes getting over some kind of funky illness so much easier because you know someone is there to pick up your slack. You don’t have to worry about some small detail that you may have overlooked because your support system is there to help you out. I am so very thankful for the support system I have right now!
Debbie Elder is a native of Ottawa County, Okla. and lives on her farm in Webster County, Mo. To contact Debbie, call 1-866-532-1960 or by email at [email protected].
